Expressions, Affections and Conversations
by Loketoki
Summary: 3318 Trying to work out what Hibari is thinking proves to be quite a challenge for his boyfriend Ryohei. But, with a little help along the way, he might just be able to get through this in one piece. Hopefully.


Expressions, Affections and Conversations

Ryohei never claimed he was any good at everything. Really, boxing and being extreme were the only things he really excelled in, not that he minded. The thrills of the boxing ring, the adrenaline rushing through his veins when he lands that K.O. It was very extreme, if he said so. But the point still stood that Ryohei only did very, very well at boxing and being extreme. He didn't care much, but there was one thing that if he didn't get better at soon, he wouldn't live very long at all.

Yes, as fun as fighting was, he wasn't looking forward to the idea of being bitten to death because he had misinterpreted a certain someone's expression, Apparently, just because he looked at him didn't mean his boyfriend wanted to be kissed then and there.

Though, if Ryohei was completely honest, Hibari brought more attention to himself by beating him up than just accepting a little kiss.

But, the boxer mused while wandering the corridors of Namimori Middle School, he probably should have known better than to expect Hibari to actually allow public displays of affection, let alone respond to them in the right way, It was probably a bit too much to ask for at this point in their relationship.

"But we have been going out for about a month now, to the extreme." Ryohei wondered out loud, hands in pockets.

The kiss wasn't the problem. The two had kissed before, many times with hardly any complaints from either side. So, the only thing that Ryohei could decide was that Hibari didn't want to be kissed in front of other people.

_Extremely fair enough. _He thought. But what about holding hands, hugs, the sort of thing that couples do together? The Prefect wasn't too thrilled on those affectionate actions either, but he tolerated them enough.

But when Ryohei tried to hold Hibari's hand while they were outside, he received the same treatment that he got with the kiss. An extremely harsh glare before a blur of silver and then bam. Tonfa wedged in his head. Hibari had left immediately after.

That, along with several other reasons, was enough to get the boxer to figure out that if he didn't learn to read his boyfriend's expressions, he would soon be found dead.

Or without a boyfriend. Whichever was worse.

He couldn't ask Kusakabe about Hibari's way of thinking. Not only did the Prefect not want his second in command knowing about the relationship, he was probably just as clueless as everyone else, so he wouldn't be much help.

Asking Hibird was pretty pointless. Ryohei had already tried that and all he got was tweeting and a song. Nice to listen to, but not helpful.

Seeing as Hibari didn't have any other friends, the boxer was at a loss of what to do, which was probably why he was walking around the school corridors instead of at the boxing club. Although, maybe an extreme fight would clear his head.

"That's what I'll do, to the extreme!" Ryohei exclaimed, clenching his fists as he began running for the stairs.

"School's closed and club activities are over. What are you doing here?" The boxer turned around; looking for the source of the voice he had come to love. Sure enough, Hibari stood in the hallway, blue eyes focusing on Ryohei, who grinned at him.

"Hibari! I could ask you the same, to the extreme!" He answered, bounding over to the Prefect.

"Doesn't mean you're going to." He replied simply, to which Ryohei laughed. "Go home. Like I said, school's closed."

"Aw, come on! Can't I stay with you, to the extreme?" The boxer asked, throwing his arm around Hibari's shoulders. "It'll be much more fun!"

"No, I'm busy." The Prefect answered, seemingly not bothered by the one armed embrace.

"Please~?" Ryohei asked again, gently kissing Hibari's temple.

**BAM!**

With an ear splitting thud and an equally painful whack, Ryohei clutched his head, watching Hibari through dazed eyes storm off, tonfa in hand and anger seeping off him. As the Prefect disappeared around a corner and left the boxer to pick himself up, he couldn't help but wonder,

_What did I do this time?_

It was a few days after the recent incident, and Ryohei was no closer to figuring out Hibari than before. If he was honest, it was starting to depress him, something he didn't want to be. Even boxing was doing anything to lift his spirits. It just felt like there was an extremely heavy 'thing' on his shoulders and if he didn't do anything about it, the 'thing' was going to crush him.

That might have been why it was such a relief to actually talk to someone about his 'Hibari-problem'.

It was getting dark outside, and Ryohei had just come back from doing some extreme roadwork. Kyoko was in the middle of some homework, so the room was pretty quiet.

It must have been the third or fourth sigh when Kyoko looked up at her brother.

"Onii-san, what's the matter?" She asked, causing the boxer to stop studying the floor in the hope that it would provide the answer.

"Huh? Nothing's the matter, to the extreme!" Ryohei answered, quickly grinning so his little sister would believe him.

"Onii-san, I know that isn't true. What's wrong?" Kyoko asked again, worry creeping into her voice. "You can tell me, you know-"

"KYOKO! IF I WAS EXTREMELY DATING SOMEONE," Ryohei suddenly interrupted, jumping up and clenching his fists. "BUT THEY WERE ALWAYS GRUMPY AND ANTISOCIAL, AND YOU COULDN'T TELL WHAT THEY WERE THINKING, WHAT WOULD I DO?" He finished, sitting back down next to a pretty surprised Kyoko. "If I was, though, to the extreme."

"U-Um… I suppose you could try talking to them." She answered after a moment's hesitation.

"But what if I already tried that?" Ryohei wondered out loud, folding his arms as he began thinking.

"Well, I guess it depends on what they said." Kyoko replied. "Maybe they don't want people to know what they're thinking because they don't feel very confident in themselves, so they shy away from others."

"… I don't think that's the problem, to the extreme." Ryohei sighed. He of all people knew that if anything was wrong with Hibari, a lack of self confidence was not it.

"Well, maybe, if you're going out with this person, they might feel nervous or embarrassed around you because they like you a lot, so they don't want to make a fool out of themselves." Kyoko offered, big eyes watching her brother.

Ryohei paused, considering what she had said. Maybe that was the reason why Hibari was impossible to read? It would also explain why he didn't want to be kissed in public. So, was Hibari just nervous around him?

"That could be it… Extremely thank you, Kyoko!" Ryohei exclaimed, leaping to his feet again as he dashed out of the room.

"Ah, Onii-san!" Kyoko called after her brother, who popped his head through the doorway. "That was just an 'if', right? You're not actually going out with someone, are you?"

"Hahaha, no, of course not, to the extreme!" Ryohei quickly answered, rubbing the back of his head as he escaped anymore questions from the puzzled girl.

It had been a peaceful day so far, to Hibari's understanding. Nothing much had happened today, which was fine. He hadn't seen Ryohei yet, though…

"Hibari!" A loud yell interrupted his thoughts as the boxer burst through the door of the Reception Room. "I was looking for you, to the extreme!"

"Really?" Hibari muttered, concentrating on his reading.

"Yep! You weren't on the extreme roof, so you must be here!" Ryohei replied, walking over to the couch that the Prefect was sitting on. He noted that there was no one else in the room, which was just as well for what he was planning. Throwing himself onto the couch, which earned him a slightly irritated glance from his boyfriend, Ryohei pulled Hibari into a hug, almost dragging the startled Prefect onto his lap. Grinning, the boxer leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"You don't need to worry, Hibari. You don't need to feel embarrassed around me." Ryohei pulled away to grin. "I'll still like you even if you're an idiot!"

"…"

"Onii-san! What happened?" Kyoko asked as she rushed into the hospital room, where Ryohei was lying, covered in bandages.

"I fell down the stairs." Ryohei answered quickly as she hurried to his side. He wasn't going to tell her that Hibari had bitten him to death because he called the Prefect an idiot. Not that he was one, of course.

"But, what are those bruises? They look like punches. And are those bite marks…?"

"A-Anyway, Kyoko!" He quickly interrupted. "Going back to what we were talking about yesterday!"

"Oh? You mean that 'if you were dating someone'?" Kyoko asked.

"Yeah, to the extreme." Ryohei nodded before continuing. "So, if I extremely took your advice and spoke to… them, but they took it the wrong way and now they're really angry, but I still couldn't tell what they were thinking, what would I do?"

"Maybe you should apologise first, because if you insulted them, they might feel more nervous or embarrassed." Kyoko answered, sitting down on a chair that she had gotten. "If you said you're sorry, and then just give them time, they might warm up to you and start opening up to you a little more."

"Hm… Maybe, to the extreme…" Ryohei nodded a little, being careful with his head injuries.

"These kind of things just take time, onii-san." Kyoko smiled at her brother. "You just need to be there for that person and let them open up to you in their own time."

"Okay, Kyoko! Thanks for the extreme advice! N-Not that I need it! Haha…"

After being allowed out of the hospital thanks to a rapid recovery, Ryohei had tried to get Hibari alone to apologise to him. However, whenever he saw the Prefect, he was either busy biting someone to death, something that even Ryohei knew to not interrupt, with Kusakabe or asleep. Because the boxer didn't want to apologise to his boyfriend when he was asleep, he hadn't managed to grab a chance to say what he wanted to say.

This, of course, had nothing to do with Ryohei standing on the school roof, leaning against the metal fence as he watched the clouds drift across the sky.

The boxer had found himself there whilst looking for Hibari. After concluding he wasn't on the roof, Ryohei just leaned against the fence and didn't move. He decided that his search could be put on hold, if only for a few minutes, while he just watched the world go by.

"… This is extremely boring!" Ryohei suddenly shouted, jumping away from the silver fence. "How can Hibari just stay in one place for so long and not get bored, to the extreme!"

"It's easy. I'm not you, for starters." A voice spoke out, causing the boxer to jump and turn around. Standing by the doorway, with his arms crossed, was Hibari himself.

"Hibari! How long have you been extremely standing there?" Ryohei asked.

"Long enough." Was the answer he received as the Prefect walked over to the fence, about an arm's length from Ryohei. "Thinking of jumping?"

"Ah, no…"

"I'll give you a push, if you want."

"I'm extremely alright!" Ryohei told Hibari, who was looking out at the town surrounding the school.

"If you say so." A silence engulfed the two, leaving a sense of awkwardness that only Ryohei seemed to feel. Glancing over at the other, who still hadn't looked at him, he knew it was now or never. Besides, when would he get this chance again?

"Uh, Hibari?" He started. It was as good a place as any to start an apology.

"Hm?" Hibari muttered to show he was listening.

"Well, I just wanted to say… Uh… Well, I-I'm sorry for… you know." He finally continued, which earned a glance from the Prefect, giving him the confidence to keep going. "I didn't mean to call you an idiot-" A twitch. Not a good sign. "Not that you are one, of course! You're one of the extremist people I know! But, I just wanted to say sorry, so… can you stop being angry at me now?"

"…" Hibari was silent as he thought about what Ryohei said. "… I wasn't angry at you."

"Wait wait wait! Don't bite me to death, I didn't mean to- Huh?" Ryohei blinked, surprised at the lack of pain coming from his head. He was sure Hibari would have at least hit him once.

"I said I wasn't that angry at you. Learn to listen to people." Hibari told him, finally turning to look at Ryohei.

"Really? But you haven't talked to me since then."

"It wasn't my fault you kept running away every time I looked at you." Ryohei cringed, clearing his throat.

"I wasn't running away, to the extreme! I was just… walking in the opposite direction very fast!" He quickly exclaimed, trying to save what little dignity he had left.

"Hm. Sure." Hibari muttered, turning his gaze back to the town, though the awkwardness that hung in the air before had disappeared, leaving behind a comfortable silence that Ryohei wasn't going to break any time soon.

"… What's the matter with you?" Hibari suddenly asked, looking over at Ryohei.

"Huh? What do you extremely mean?" He asked, wondering what he had done this time.

"That was the fourth time you sighed." The Prefect told him, watching the boxer carefully.

"Was it? I didn't even know I was sighing, to the extreme!" Ryohei laughed nervously, trying to think of a way to distract the Prefect from questioning him any further. "What an extremely great day!"

Hibari raised an eyebrow at Ryohei's blatantly terrible attempt at avoiding his question.

"Don't change the subject. What's the matter-"

It's not my fault, to the extreme!" Ryohei suddenly interrupted loudly, taking the Prefect by surprise. "I just feel too confused and depressed about everything!"

"What are you-"

"It's just that you are impossible to extremely understand, and I can never tell what you're thinking!"

"Wha-"

"And the fact that you always beat me up whenever I try to hold your hand or hug you or kiss you or anything always makes me confused and stuff because you're fine with all that sometimes!"

"Hey-"

"And you never talk to me about how you're feeling, so I can't tell what you're thinking even though I think I already extremely said that!"

"…"

"So, it's just extremely hard because I extremely like you a lot and I want you to be happy, but I feel like I'm just making you extremely angry with me-"

Hibari grabbed a handful of Ryohei's shirt and pulled him into a kiss, silencing the boxer, who could only widen his eyes before responding happily enough, his arms circling around the Prefect. When they broke apart, Ryohei moved to speak again, before Hibari interrupted.

"Shut up. You are far too loud for your own good. You're giving me a headache." He told the boxer, who could only grin sheepishly. "If that was the reason why you've been acting weird, why didn't you just tell me?"

"… I could have done that to the extreme?" Ryohei asked while Hibari contemplated the pros and cons of throwing the boxer off the roof. Simply talking to Hibari about what had been bugging him hadn't occurred to him.

"Yes, you could have, instead of ignoring me and moping about."

"I wasn't extremely moping!"

"Hm. Sure you weren't." Hibari muttered, shaking his head a little. "If you can't tell what I'm thinking, maybe that's because I don't want you to know what I'm thinking. If you can't understand me, tough. That's your problem. Just get used to me. I don't like public displays of affection because, first of all, I thought our relationship was supposed to be secret, and second, I don't like being hugged or kissed when other people are around. That kind of thing is private. Finally, if you really did like me, then I shouldn't need to talk to you about how I feel. Understand?" Hibari finished, looking right into Ryohei's eyes.

After the Prefect had finished talking, both were silent for a while, before a huge grin crept onto the boxer's face. He held Hibari closer, burying his nose into the raven black hair.

"Yeah, I understand, to the extreme." He whispered, kissing the top of his head.

The two stayed like that, embracing each other on the roof, knowing that, somehow, they'll be able to get through whatever came their way.

Meanwhile, a lone figure slipped down the stairs, having watched what had happened from the doorway.

"I hope everything works out for the best, onii-san." The figure whispered to herself, happily joining her friends, silently wishing them luck and hope for a brighter future.

However, a couple of days later…

"Onii-san! What happened?"

"I, uh, ran into a wall! Extreme men only go straight, you know!"

End


End file.
